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Wildlife area · 2026-27
Mittry Lake Wildlife Area: Tags, Rules and Ground
Wildlife area in Yuma County: 3,862 acres, Unit 43B.
Photo: Chris M Morris (CC BY 2.0)
Getting to Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
What kind of ground Mittry Lake Wildlife Area is
AZGFD manages Mittry Lake Wildlife Area as a wildlife area under Articles R12-4-801 to R12-4-803; its own restrictions sit in paragraph R12-4-802(A)(23). Figure it at 3,862 acres (AZGFD GIS polygon), within Yuma County. Game and Fish staff in Yuma (Region IV) look after this ground. Nearest town on the AZGFD record: Yuma.
From the AZGFD wildlife area description: The Mittry Lake Wildlife Area offers a wide variety of habitats, from open lakes to cattail marshes and streamside woodlands, providing an equally wide opportunity for wildlife-based recreation. This combination of habitats provides abundant opportunities for fishing, wildlife watching, hiking, boating, and hunting. Recreational Opportunities Mittry Lake has recently undergone rehabilitation work, including marsh dredging, revegetation and fish habitat improvement, making it an ideal location for small game hunting and sportfishing. Major species for small game hunting include waterfowl, dove, quail, and rabbit.
From lands.json (primary source; acres: GIS area (equal-area) of the AZGFD Wildlife Areas layer (Wildlife_Areas, 2019) polygon), checked November 7, 2026.
Nearby
Places to hunt and shoot around Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
AZGFD units on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Unit lines put Mittry Lake Wildlife Area in Unit 43B. The species AZGFD names for the units are bighorn sheep, mule deer, dove and quail; that list belongs to the units, not to Mittry Lake Wildlife Area alone.
| Unit | AZGFD region | Square miles | Counties | National forest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 43B | Yuma | 861 | La Paz, Yuma | – |
| Unit | Lion | Bear (2026) | Archery deer | Other |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 43B | L (1) | – | 40 | – |
Units from the AZGFD Game Management Unit layer overlay in lands.json; unit facts, lion zones, bear limits and archery deer limits from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (zones section, unit maps); checked November 7, 2026.
How the rules read on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
The Commission wrote 7 separate items for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. Nothing in the hunting line narrows the weapon choice beyond R12-4-304. Off-route driving is not allowed beyond what the vehicle line permits. Overnight stays have their own line in the rule.
| Topic | In short | Rule text |
|---|---|---|
| Fires | Designated fire sites | Open fires allowed in designated areas only. |
| Firewood | Dead and down only | Wood collecting limited to dead and down material, for onsite noncommercial use only. |
| Camping | 14 of 30 days | Overnight public camping allowed in designated areas only, for no more than 14 days within a 30-day period. |
| Vehicles | Designated routes only | Motorized vehicle travel permitted on designated roads or areas only, except for big game retrieval as permitted under R12-4-110 (H). |
| Closures | Posted areas closed | Posted portions closed to all public entry. |
| Other | No-ski waterway | Mittry Lake is a "No Ski" waterway as defined under R12-4-501. |
| Hunting | Open in season | Open to all hunting in season as permitted under R12-4-304 and R12-4-318. |
Under R12-4-801 the Department can post a temporary closure of up to 90 days, and those signs carry the force of the rule.
Rule text: A.A.C. R12-4-802 (Cornell LII copy) and R12-4-801; checked November 7, 2026.
Over-the-counter hunts around Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Nonpermit-tags, sold over the counter with no draw, cover deer, javelina and mountain lion in the units of Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. Archery deer units close at sundown on the Wednesday after their harvest limit is reached, and each deer must be reported online within 48 hours. Zone thresholds manage the August 21, 2026 to May 31, 2027 lion season.
| Species | Season | Legal wildlife | Dates | Units here | Harvest limit |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | Archery-only OTC tag deer | Any antlered deer | Dec 11–Jan 31, 2027 | 43B | 40 |
| Javelina | General OTC tag javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2026 | 43B | – |
| Javelina | General OTC tag spring javelina | Any javelina | Jan 1–Dec 31, 2027 | 43B | – |
| Mountain lion | General mountain lion | Any lion except spotted kittens or… | Aug 21–May 31, 2027 | 43B | – |
| Mountain lion | Pursuit-only mountain lion | Pursuit of any lion except spotted… | Aug 21–May 31, 2027 | 43B | – |
Nonpermit-tag rows from the 2026-27 regulations and the 2027 spring booklet; reporting rules from the harvest reporting section; checked November 7, 2026.
Drawn hunts for the Mittry Lake Wildlife Area units
One of the species drawn for here.
The 2026-27 booklets carry 3 hunt numbers valid in units that reach Mittry Lake Wildlife Area (1 deer and 2 desert bighorn). 460 permit-tags are on offer. Hunt numbers belong to units, and Mittry Lake Wildlife Area is simply inside them. Deadlines: June 2, 2026 for the fall draw, October 6, 2026 for spring 2027 hunts, and February 3, 2026 for 2026 pronghorn and elk.
| Species | Number of hunts | Tags | Earliest | Latest |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deer | 1 | 450 | Nov 6, 2026 | Nov 15, 2026 |
| Desert bighorn | 2 | 10 | Nov 13, 2026 | Dec 31, 2026 |
| # | Species | Hunt | Dates | Legal wildlife | Permit-tags | Units |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1071 | Deer | General | Nov 6–15, 2026 | Any antlered deer | 450 | 43B |
| 6042 | Desert bighorn | General | Nov 13–Dec 3, 2026 | Any ram | 5 | 43B |
| 6043 | Desert bighorn | General | Dec 4–31, 2026 | Any ram | 5 | 43B |
Hunt numbers, dates, legal wildlife and permits from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations, the 2027 spring booklet and the 2026 pronghorn and elk booklet; deadlines from the draw section; checked November 7, 2026.
Small game seasons for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
The small game list for these units, dove and quail, runs on statewide dates. Duck hunters add two stamps, Arizona and federal, to the license.
| Species | Hunt | Dates |
|---|---|---|
| Gambel's, scaled and California quail | General quail | Oct 16–Feb 7, 2027 |
| Mearns' quail | General quail | Dec 4–Feb 7, 2027 |
| Doves | Statewide early dove season | Sep 1–15, 2026 |
| Doves | Statewide late dove season | Nov 20–Jan 3, 2027 |
| Ducks and mergansers | General waterfowl | Oct 23–Jan 31, 2027 |
| Ducks and mergansers | Youth-only waterfowl | Feb 6–7, 2027 |
Statewide season rows from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations and the waterfowl and dove leaflets; checked November 7, 2026.
Mittry Lake Wildlife Area: neighbouring closed ground
Arizona licenses do not apply on Fort Yuma Indian Reservation; the tribe sets the rules. Without tribal permission, hunting there is a federal crime (18 USC 1165).
| Closed place | Why closed | County | Distance |
|---|---|---|---|
| Fort Yuma Indian Reservation | tribal land | Yuma | 11 miles |
| Cocopah Reservation | tribal land | Yuma | 25 miles |
Closed rows from lands.json: tribal land (18 USC 1165, Census TIGERweb), NPS units (36 CFR 2.2); checked November 7, 2026.
Mittry Lake Wildlife Area unit harvest, 2025
These are unit totals from the 2025 AZGFD summaries, covering more ground than Mittry Lake Wildlife Area. Each row totals one-unit hunts of a kind; elk is a preliminary report.
| Unit | Hunt type (2025) | Hunters | Harvest | Success |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unit 43B | OTC archery deer | 42 | 1 | 0% |
| Unit 43B | Bighorn sheep, 2 hunts | 8 | 8 | 100% |
2025 AZGFD harvest summaries: OTC archery deer, deer, elk (preliminary), pronghorn, spring javelina, spring turkey, bighorn sheep; checked November 7, 2026.
Towns serving Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
For fuel and groceries, Yuma Proving Ground is closest at 2 miles. Yuma tops the list at 103,559 people. The AZGFD staff nearest Mittry Lake Wildlife Area sit in Yuma, 11 miles off.
| Nearest towns | County | Population | Miles | Heading |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yuma Proving Ground | Yuma | – | 2 miles | northeast |
| Martinez Lake | Yuma | – | 9 miles | north |
| Yuma | Yuma | 103,559 | 23 miles | south |
| San Luis | Yuma | 40,064 | 29 miles | southwest |
| Cibola | La Paz | – | 39 miles | north |
Towns from places.json (Census 2024 estimates); AZGFD offices from the AZGFD offices page; businesses from services.json listings; straight-line miles. Checked November 7, 2026.
Other places close to Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Head northwest about 21 miles for Imperial NWR. The nearest six count as 3 national wildlife refuges, 2 military installations and 1 wildlife area.
| Name | Kind | Size (ac) | County | Away | Bearing |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imperial NWR | Wildlife refuge | 20,875 | La Paz | 21 miles | northwest |
| Yuma Proving Ground | Military land | 837,513 | Yuma | 22 miles | north |
| Quigley-Achee Wildlife Area | Wildlife area | 612 | Yuma | 30 miles | east |
| Goldwater Range West | Military land | 693,301 | Yuma | 32 miles | southeast |
| Cibola NWR | Wildlife refuge | 13,176 | La Paz | 35 miles | north |
| Kofa NWR | Wildlife refuge | 664,803 | Yuma | 39 miles | northeast |
Point: AZGFD Wildlife Areas layer (Wildlife_Areas, 2019) (polygon centroid). Straight-line distances. Statewide public land map.
Hunting hours computed for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Arizona stays on Mountain Standard Time all year, so the clock times for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area below do not jump in November or March.
| Date | Season marker | Sunrise | Sunset | Daylight hunting | Migratory birds |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1, 2026 | Dove opener | 6:12 a.m. | 7:05 p.m. | 6:12 a.m. to 7:05 p.m. | 5:42 a.m. to 7:05 p.m. |
| Oct 16, 2026 | Quail opener | 6:42 a.m. | 6:05 p.m. | 6:42 a.m. to 6:05 p.m. | 6:12 a.m. to 6:05 p.m. |
| Oct 23, 2026 | Waterfowl opener | 6:47 a.m. | 5:57 p.m. | 6:47 a.m. to 5:57 p.m. | 6:17 a.m. to 5:57 p.m. |
| Nov 6, 2026 | General deer | 6:59 a.m. | 5:44 p.m. | 6:59 a.m. to 5:44 p.m. | 6:29 a.m. to 5:44 p.m. |
| Dec 11, 2026 | Archery deer | 7:30 a.m. | 5:32 p.m. | 7:30 a.m. to 5:32 p.m. | 7:00 a.m. to 5:32 p.m. |
| Dec 21, 2026 | Shortest day | 7:36 a.m. | 5:35 p.m. | 7:36 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. | 7:06 a.m. to 5:35 p.m. |
| Jan 1, 2027 | Spring javelina | 7:40 a.m. | 5:41 p.m. | 7:40 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. | 7:10 a.m. to 5:41 p.m. |
Hours rules from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations (A.R.S. 17-301); sunrise and sunset worked out for this location with the NOAA solar formula (Mountain Standard Time); the AZGFD Phoenix sunrise-sunset chart; checked November 7, 2026. Legal hours for every county.
Benches and clubs nearest Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Southwest Bowhunters, 11 miles from Mittry Lake Wildlife Area, beats every range on AZGFD’s list for distance.
From AZGFD’s Shooting Range Facilities page, operators’ own sites and directory listings, checked November 7, 2026.
Asked and answered on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area
Any OTC options for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
OTC tags cover deer, javelina and mountain lion here.
Draw hunts for Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Yes: 3 hunts for deer and desert bighorn; see the draw table on this page.
Can I use an ATV on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Motorized vehicle travel permitted on designated roads or areas only, except for big game retrieval as permitted under R12-4-110 (H) .
Can I pitch a tent on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Overnight public camping allowed in designated areas only, for no more than 14 days within a 30-day period.
Which Game and Fish region is Mittry Lake Wildlife Area part of?
Region IV, Yuma; phone 928-342-0091.
Do I have to wear hunter orange on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
There is no Arizona requirement.
CWD near Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
No. Arizona has no CWD detection so far, and testing is free.
What closed land lies near Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Mind Fort Yuma Indian Reservation (11 miles): it is tribal land, closed to state-licensed hunting without the tribe’s permission.
Which Arizona license applies on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
An Arizona hunting or combination license and the right tag: residents pay $37 or $57 for the combination, nonresidents $160 for the combination.
Is Mittry Lake Wildlife Area legal ground for a licensed hunter?
Yes; R12-4-802(A)(23) says “Open to all hunting in season as permitted under R12-4-304 and R12-4-318.”
How large a piece of country is Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Roughly 3,862 acres.
Which game units cover Mittry Lake Wildlife Area?
Unit 43B. Hunts are valid by unit, so the whole unit, not only Mittry Lake Wildlife Area, is open to the tag.
Checklist for the Mittry Lake Wildlife Area trip
Saw a wildlife violation on Mittry Lake Wildlife Area? Report it to Operation Game Thief, the AZGFD poaching hotline.
Sources: source 1 · source 2 · source 3 · source 4 · source 5; seasons from the 2026-27 Arizona Hunting Regulations. Checked November 7, 2026.
Other photos on this page: sharloch (CC BY-SA 2.0); Chris M Morris (CC BY 2.0).